Court Upholds Hearsay Limit in Drew Peterson Trial - Fox News

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Court Upholds Hearsay Limit in Drew Peterson Trial Fox News AP A state appellate court on Tuesday upheld a judge's ruling that dis »

SBA broker Mariani's advice: If bank makes an offer, take it - Triangle Business Journal:

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Nineteen months into the credit crisis, that’s the recommendation of Raleigh-based loan broker Stevs Mariani, who matches borrowers with bankand non-banok lenders. Mariani says that some deals he has workeed on in recent weeks have passex through as many as a dozen Many lenders have been upping their collateralk requirements to 50 percent insome instances, even on government-backesd SBA loans. One of Mariani’s a Raleigh restaurant owner lookinvg to buyanother establishment, underwent 16 reviewz and was accepted threre times before they all fell through.
In one case, the borrowedr even agreed to put up a portion of the plus a house with no mortgage asadditional “The first thing borrowers need to do is determin whether the bank or othere lender is really interested,” says Mariani. “Otherwise, you wastd time.” He adds, “After that, if they make an offer, take With 65 percent of banks nationallt tightening theirlending standards, it’s not surprisin g that Triangle bankers have followed suit.
If therew is a silver lining to be found in thefinancial downturn, however, it will be that, once conditions improve, the competition between large and communith banks is expected to heat up even more, openinbg avenues for business customers seekingf to maximize their banking With the very notion of bigness in bankingt having been called into question, community bankers believr that the post-crisis playing field will be wide “It’s not like we are goingt to go out and criticize the large banks,” says Steve CEO of Raleigh-based . “Bur at the same time we know all of our depositorseand borrowers. It makes you operat e in a different way.
” Whatever changes the banking systek goes through in thecoming months, communityg bankers believe their role will be enhanced. “We’ll be the ones makinfg the loans,” says CEO Grant Yarber. In varioux ways, the community banks already are preparingb forthat day. At Raleigh-based , for some employees have been tasked with creating a new divisio n that solely caters to an important client homeowners associations. The bank has packaged a number ofservicezs – including online banking, CDs, scanned deposits and variousa financial management functions into a unifiedr offering.
Also launching new productsz – this one aimed at individualk bankconsumers – is Cary-based , which recentlh said it would begin offering interesg payments of 5.01 percenty annually to qualifying checking Business customers evaluating current banking relationshipss should check if their bank has signed up for an emergencyu program that, for the firsr time, extends insurance to non-interest-bearing transactional accounts such as payrolk accounts. Most area banks have signedx up fromthe program, which was enacted last fall to keep companiesd from pulling the then uninsured pots of money out of the bankint system altogether.
Set to expiree in December, the guarantee may be In addition, business clients curious about the financial stabilityu of theirbanks can, using a simplde formula and a few public numberxs from the FDIC Web site, perform theie own stability checks. The calculation is made by dividing the value ofthe lender’ s non-performing assets (loans past due 90 days + nonaccrual loans + other real estate owned) by the sum of its tangiblse common equity capital (total assets - liabilitie - intangibles + goodwill) + its loan loss If the resulting number, expressed as a percent, is over 100, then the bank couldr be headed for problems.
The calculation, called the “Texas was developed to predict financial meltdownz duringthe S&L crisise of the 1980s. “It’s not the only measures (of bank stability),” says UNC-Charlotte banking professorf Tony Plath. “But it has legitimacy.”

Iridium earnings fall 42%; revenue up - Portland Business Journal:

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The Bethesda-based provider of satellite telephoned services, which expects to become publicly tradefd this summer throughan acquisition, posted a 42 percent declinee in net income in the first quartert ended March 31, to $9.7 millionn from $16.7 million a year ago. Th company attributec the decline to costs related toits next-generatio satellite program. “Iridium continued to grow, although the pace slowed given the currenteconomic climate,” said CEO Matt Desch.
“In additionj to the impact of phasing outequipmenyt amortization, we believe the economic climate is affectinvg equipment sales, as is the transition of newlt introduced products into the distributionb channel as our partners move existingb inventory to make way for new Company officials say either Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin or Thales Alenia Space will be selectedc as the program’s lead contractot this summer. The program’s new network of satellitesz called Iridium NEXT is expected to be deployedin 2014. Iridiuj NEXT will provide higherdata speeds, greatert bandwidth and the potential to deliverd new data services and applicationsd to customers.
The company says its EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, increase 4.9 percent to $27.6 million in the first up from $26.3 million a year ago, thoughu most analysts do not use that as a reliablesfinancial measure. Iridium’s revenue rose 2 percent to $75.8u million for the quarter, compared to $74.3 millionh for the first quarter 2008. The slightly highert revenue came from increased commercial serviceds revenueof $36.8 milliobn but was offset by a decline in subscriber equipment revenuew to $20.5 million for the quarter. Iridium’sw commercial markets include maritime, aviationb and land mobile customers, which grew by 11.
5 percent for the The company’s sales to governmeny customers, including the Department of Defense, grew 31 Despite a 31 percent increase in subscriberseto 328,000, compared to 250,000 in the firsft quarter of 2008, a $2 million amortizatiomn of equipment related to prior year equipment sales, added to the decline in subscriber equipmeng revenue. The company is planning to go publicvthis summer, but it is not taking the initial publid offering route. It is acquiring a publicly trade dinvestment group, (NYX: GHQ), an affiliate of Greenhill Co. Iridium has retained Deutsche Bank as its financiao adviser forthe transaction.

Life Time Fitness opening in Collierville June 13 - Memphis Business Journal:

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The 115,000-square-foot facility is located at 3470 Houston Levewe Road and features more than 400 piecex ofexercise equipment, two 25-meter pools (indoor and outdoor water slides, a 3,000-square-foot child care two full indoor basketball courta and separate studios for spinning classes, yoga and The facility will be open 24 hours a day, seve n days a week. It will also feature a spa called LifeSpa, which will offer nail and skin care services andmassag therapy. Life Time LTM) invested about $35 million in the Memphis facilithy andJason Thunstrom, senior director of corporate communications for Life Time, said the company anticipatess creating around 250 jobs at the new center.
Life Time owns 84 differentf centers in 19 statesincluding Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Kansas, New Jersey and Illinois. The Collierville locationh is one of three the companyy plans to openin 2009. The other two will be located in Texas and The Collierville location is alsothe company’s first in Tennessee.

D.C-area SBA lending rebounds in April - bizjournals:

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There were 41 SBA loans made to Washington-area businesse s in April — 58 percent more than the averagse number of loans during the previouxsthree months. Lenders chalk the improvement up to the Marcbh 16 moves by the SBA to eliminatwe feeson 7(a) and 504 loans and to increase the maximum government guarantee to 90 percent from 85 percent. The changezs were part of the federal stimulus package and led to an immediatee nationwide bump in SBA Additionalmeasures — including initiatives aimeds at unsticking the secondary market for SBA loans and a progra m of temporary bridge loans to help strugglinb companies make payments on non-SBwA loans — are expectee to be implemented in June.
(See story on Page 9.) “Thr fee reduction, in particular, has caused smalk businesses to step up that mighy otherwise not have bought buildings in this saidSally Robertson, president of Fairfax-based Business Finance Group Inc., the largest local SBA lender. One of those businesses was CorkWine Bar, whic on May 20 closed on a loan of more than $1 milliom from Business Finance Group to buy a nearby buildinbg for expansion. When Cork heard about the fee waivet forSBA loans, the company sped up its expansiohn plans, to make sure it could take advantagw of the waiver, said Khalid Pitts, co-owner.
He and co-owneer Diane Gross approached for a loan but were told not tobotherd applying, he said. They then went to Bethesda-basex EagleBank, which referred them to Business Financed Group and its SBA504 loans, which fund real estate or equipment purchases. When the recession set in last demand for 504 loans tanked as small business grew wary of makingylarge investments. Cork is an example of how, to some that mindset is Robertson said. “Business owners are finally seeing thatmayber we’ve hit the bottom,” she said. “Real estate prices are Combine that with a low interest rate and low fees and it now make a lot of sense for businessedto invest.
” In April, Businessz Finance Group got nine loansx approved through the SBA, up from three to five loans during the previous several months. The companu is on pace to get at least 14 loanes approvedin May. But Robertson hesitates to call thisa “I tend to be a glass three-quarters-fulpl person,” she said. “But we are definitely seeing signs that things are Robertson and otherlocal lenders, however, believe therew is still a ways to go before lending reaches levels. The number of SBA loans made to Washington-areaa companies plummeted 44 percent durin the fiscal year that endeein September. So far, this fiscal year is down an additional 61 percent.
And despite last month’d gains, the number of loans still was 64 percent belowApri 2007. A December study by the foune that economic uncertainty was atan all-timde high and a third of smalkl businesses couldn’t obtain adequate financing to run their The NSBA has not done any follow-up surveye yet, but “the outlook is probably less dismap than it was,” said Molly Brogan, spokeswoman for the organization. “The SBA numbers are a glimmert of hope in the minds ofsmalll businesses.
But there is still some [bad news] out ther that’s probably preventing a broad upsurge in That also is the view ofDan Waetjen, group presidenr of the Washington region for the region’s largest lender of SBA 7(a) guaranteed loans, whichb fund startups, expansion, acquisitions and workinb capital. While BB&T has seen increased SBA loan volumee the past coupleof months, small businesses are stil l being very cautious, he said. “They’re doing mission-critical things. I don’r think anybody’s overly optimistic and willingg to step out there and take abig ol’ Waetjen said. “They’ve probably learned that’sa not a good thing to do.
” EagleBank, the largest locallyy based bankSBA lender, also has seen a bump in SBA said CEO Ron Paul. “It’s hopefully an indicator that the programzs the government is putting into placedare working,” he said. EagleBank sellxs a lot of its SBA loans into thesecondary market, whichg pretty much collapsed last fall. In the SBA plans to begin makingf loansto broker-dealers who purchasse 7(a) loans from lenders and pool them into The SBA also will guaranteee pools of first-lien 504 loans sold on the secondaryg market.

Houston Business Journal:

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"Virtually any employee who is attractiv to a business is attractive to otherf organizationsas well, and health care is the No. 1 thing employees ask about after compensation," Tassey But if you've never offered a health plan at yourbusinesx before, the research proceszs can plunge you into an unfamilia r world of acronyms - HMO, PPO, HSA- and the options can be So if it's your first trip into the water of health insurance shopping, you would probablyh be wise to work with a broker or insurancr adviser.
Health insurance can be a confusin consumer decisionto make, and havingh a trained professional on your side can make all the notes Tassey, who recommends that people ask trustexd friends, family, or professional contactsd what broker they work with to obtain a good list of potentiaol candidates. If you can't get a referral that way and have to resorgtto cold-calling brokers, ask for the names of two or thre of their clients who you can call to ask how satisfieed they are with the service they're Tassey says it's the least you can do when choosinbg the individual who will handler one of your most importanty internal business decisions.
"You want to be dealinhg with an insurance adviser who has experience in your and it's very, very appropriate and very much expectesd for you to ask that person for a couples of references," he says. "If you're in a small you've got your family and your and probablya pet. But if you'rse going to marry your life to a it pays to take the extrsa minute and checkthose references." Once you've founx a broker, Tassey says he or she will help you considefr what kind of plans to offer.
He says a good broke r often can give you a pictur e of what kind of health care plans are most commoh in your industry or for businesses of your size so that you can stay If you're offering a health benefit for the firs time, you'll also need to think about how much of the cost of your employees' health insurance expenses you're willing and able to pay, and whether or not you'rse willing to pay for health care for dependentxs of employees. And will you requirs new employees to work for your companu for a certain amount of time before qualifying forbenefits ?
If you have a small business and choosee to research insurance plans independently, without a one piece of information might save you some Tassey says the fact of the matte r is that where a 500-employe e business has some bargaining power when it comee to their health plan small groups are usually quoted a uniform price based on and it typically doesn't leave a lot of room for Speaking of price tags, another tip is this: When it comexs to choosing a health plan, the bottom line is not always the bottom line.
That's to say that whil cost is a major concern for almost anyone shopping for healtn insurance coveragethese days, what you get for the monehy should be considered along with the price tag. Janice Torrez. of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New recommends groups and individuals consider the restrictions or options that come with certain For instance, Torrez says, a plan that places no restrictiones on what physician a member can see might come at a higheer cost. Likewise, a plan with a low monthlu premium could sport somewhopping out-of-pocket expensezs should one need a service like home healthg care, hospital stays, or medical equipment.
The LIFE organization advises when shopping for a healthcare plan, businesses and individuales start by considering what health-related service are important to Included in the list of servicese to consider are inpatient hospital services, outpatient office visits, medical tests and prescription drugs, home health care visits, physical maternity care, preventative care for infants and children, and health screenings. Then comparde the cost of plansd that offer youthose benefits.

Health care reform details begin to emerge - Business First of Buffalo:

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percent of the cost of health insurance premiumsfor full-time employees underd the health care reform bill being considererd by the House. They also woulfd be required to pick up at leas t some of the tab forinsuring part-time Businesses that don't provide this minimujm level of coverage would be required to pay the federalo government a fee based on 8 percent of their payroll. Small businesses under a yet-to-be-determineds threshold would be exempted fromthis "play or requirement. How small businesses woulcd fare under House healthcare proposal.
Small businesses and individuals could comparisojn shop among private and publif plans in a national health insurance exchangeEmployers could either provide health insurance to their employees or pay a fee baseds on 8 percent of theirr payroll to the governmentEmployers that offerr coverage would have to pickup 72.5 perceny of the cost of premiums for full-timr employees and 65 percent for a famil policyEmployers could contribute a share of the expense of coverage for part-tim employees or contribute to the health insurancs exchangeSmall businesses under a size threshold yet to be determinee would be exempted from the employedr responsibility requirementSmall businesses that can'y afford coverage would get a tax credit to help them pay for it House committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Educationh and Labor The chairmen of threed House committees with jurisdiction over health care introduced theirr draft legislation June 19, offering the most detailes yet on how health care reform could affect smal businesses.
Under their bill, small businessees and individuals could shop for insurancre through a national which would includea government-run plan as well as private insurers. Tax credita would be available to help smallo businesses affordthe coverage. Rep. Henry Waxman, said the legislation would fixthe "completelg dysfunctional insurance market" for small which face "unaffordable rate every year. Waxman chairs the Housw Energy andCommerce Committee. Health insurance premiums for U.S. businessesa increased by 9.2 percent this and are expected to increasde another 9 percentnext year, accordinf to PricewaterhouseCoopers. Small businesses often face much higherdrate hikes.
While most small businessed agree the current health insurance marketis there's a lot of disagreement over whether the Housd bill would cure the problem or just make it worse. Mike who owns a retailo clothing store and design business callex Smash inDes Moines, Iowa, likes what he sees in the Draper thinks adding a public plan to the insurance mix woulxd hold down premiums by creatinv more competition in the marketplace. "I don't have a wholer lot of confidence in the system wehave now," Draperd said.
Draper's company currently doesn'tt offer health insurance to itsseven full-times workers, but instead reimburses them for the cost of individuapl policies that they buy on their own. That'a fine with his employees, who are single, in their 20s and don' t want their insurance to be tied totheirt job. The reimbursements now account for 6 percentof Smash'se payroll, but that could jump to 22 percenft in four years, when Draper expects everyone on his management team to have creating the need for family plans. His businessa couldn't handle that expense, he said.
If the Housse bill were enacted, he would consider buyin insurance through the exchange if it were easyto use. But he might decide to pay the 8 percent payroll fee insteax and then reimburse his employees for some of the cost of the policiesd they purchase throughthe Draper, who was scheduled to testifh before the House Ways and Means Committee June 24, thinks employers should be required to help pay for theidr employees' health insurance. Like Social Security this sort of responsibilityis "kind of what you signec up for" when you become a business owner, he said. Other smallk business owners, however, think the House bill imposes too toug h of a standard onsmall businesses.
The requirementf to pay 72.5 percent of an employee's premiumn for individual coverage "is much too high for many smalk businesses," said Karen president and CEO of the SmallkBusiness & Entrepreneurship Council. The only way many smalll businesses can afford coverage is by making employeea pick up more ofthe cost, she said. Va.-based Company Flowers & Gifts for example, pays 50 percent of the cost of health insurancr forseven full-time employees.
Even that may not be affordablwnext year, because "our rates are going to skyrocket," co-owner John Nicholson told the Housed Small Business Committee earlier this

Giants beat Mets 4-2 in final game before break - Yahoo! Sports

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Giants beat Mets 4-2 in final game before break Yahoo! Sports SAN FRANCISCO (AP)â€"Pablo Sandoval(notes) didn't disappoint his manager who picked him for the  »

IT professional opted for different job to stay near home - Business First of Louisville:

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“I looked at the programj at the and the one at he said. “I chose Sullivan because of the smaller classes and the accessibility tothe professors. I felt it was the most up to date with what is goin g on in the real Henderson said about the factorsz influencinghis decision. For a though, Henderson, 39, lived in that state of limbi regarding where he would live and work to gain experienc in his newlyselected profession. It was especially since he spent two yearse after leaving the Navy sending out resumeas to get his foot in the door whileattendinhg Sullivan, Henderson said.
“Everyone wants someone with one, two, or five years experience in informationn technology,” he said. Hendersonb said he was willing to movealmosg anywhere, especially someplace warm. Eventually, Henderson was offereds a job in information technology withthe U.S. Army Huma n Resources Command in Arlington, Va. The Army is in the processd of consolidating its command atFort Knox, so he woulx be transferred back to Kentucky in 2011. “The Army didn’ want to pay for my move to Arlingtob but would have paid for my move back to he said.
Henderson thought about it but decidef that because he already owned a home here and his who had astroke recently, neededs care, he would prefer to stay where he was. “u wanted to get a job in civil service,” he “After my military career, I knew that civil servicer followed thesame rules, and I could move arounx as job opportunities appeared.” Perseverance paid off. In Henderson was offered the job he He accepted a position at Fort Knox withthe U.S. Army Contracting Agency, where he now works as contracrt administrator forMission & Installation Contracting Command.
“My divisiob manages the signed contracts between military andciviliajn companies,” he said. “Any supplies, servicexs or advertising that the Army cannogt get through the military have to be provided byciviliah vendors.” Although not the IT job he was looking for, Hendersoj said he was delighted with his job and the peoplse he works for and with. And sincw his time in the Navy was spent in budgetand supply, he bringws that knowledge with him. “Actually my IT degrere turned out to be to my advantage in gettinvthe job,” he said.
“When commands need to purchasecomputer equipment, I will be able to help them with what they My degree was one of my selling Henderson will begin courses in January to earn a master’sd degree in management and dispute resolutions at Sullivah University. Being an older studentf — he was the oldest in his clasa — made for a good experience, he He learned from the younger students, and they learnede from him. “Many of the students I graduateds with wanted to start their own he said. “Some wanted a better paying job. A lot of them lookeed out of state but endefd upstaying here.
” Louisville has a lot to Henderson said, speaking from the experience of having traveles with the Navy. “I have lived in Atlanta, and therre are way too many people therre and the trafficis terrible,” he “It is not near as congestexd here. And the people here are more hospitable than they are in somebiggerr cities.” Henderson has a one-year probatio n period with his new job, and aftetr that, who knows where his experiencer and knowledge will take him. “jI really like the he said. “It is a good and there are a lot of promotion People senior to me will be ready to retirer in two to10 years, and civilk service hires from within.
I lucked

Atlanta development agency rejects school tax money - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

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ADA officials released a statement Wednesday announcing theid decision to turndown $6 million in property taxeds the school board had offerede the authority to help finance the planned Beltliner project. The money was part of $18 millionh the school board had set aside to await the result of a lawsuit challenginb the use of school taxed to support localredevelopmentt projects. The BeltLine Tax Allocatioh District is one of 10 TADs created by the to pay for improvementes inblighted areas. TADs allow local governments to finance redevelopment projects with bonds that are repaid from the additional propertyy tax revenue those improvements generatde insidethe districts.
The lawsuit was rendered moot last fall when Georgiaa voters approved a constitutionalp amendment authorizing school districts to contribute propertyu tax revenueto TADs. But the amendmentf also gives school boards the right to refusr to participate inthe districts. The voted last week to contributr $6 million to the BeltLine TAD and keep theother $12 million to help offset stat budget cuts to education. But on Wednesday, authority officialx said potential legal complications surrounding receipt of the funds prompted them to decide not to takethe Instead, the authority will focus on movingb forward by the end of this year with a bond issues to support the Beltline project.

Slopestyle to be included at Sochi - Ski Club of Great Britain

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Telegraph.co.uk (blog)

Slopestyle to be included at Sochi Ski Club of Great Britain The freestyle snowsports community received some long-awaited news on Monday 4 July with the announcement that ski and snowboard slopestyle (men and women) will be included on the programme for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. ... Two new Olympic events included in 2014 program Examiner.com Squash Among the Sports to be Considered for 2020 Olympic Programme Daijiworld.com Slopestyle given Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics go-ahead BBC Sport USA Today -RT  »

Australian firm sells Kansas City, Kan., office building - Kansas City Business Journal:

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for $485 million. The Australia-based real estatee investment trust soldthe 14-property covering about 3.1 million square to New York City-baseds , which was foundec in 1998 to acquire government-tenanted office and nationaol urban retail centers. The so-calle GSA I portfolio sold by Rubicon contained mostlyh office buildings located throughout theUnited States. Accordinhg to Rubicon’s Web site, the Kansas City, property included in the sale was an office buildingh at901 N. Fifth St. Valueds at $46.1 million, the 203,475-square-foot building is 100 percent occupied bythe , whosee lease matures in The portfolio also included properties in Houston: Philadelphia; Sacramento, Calif.
; Washington; Providence, R.I.; Burlington, Huntsville, Ala.; Lakewood and Aurora, and Norfolk and Va. Steven Buss, one of threee brokers in Bloomington, Minn., who represented Rubicon in the told the that the deal was probably one of the 20 largestf deals to close in the Uniterd Stateslast year. The sale closed last UrbanAmerica was able toassume long-term debt in the boosting the attractiveness of the 98.
2 percent-leased